THE FESTIVAL OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS
A NOVEL BY MATT DOJNY
"A perfect summer read, armchair travel in a higher key."
—Los Angeles Times
“Best Debut of 2012”
—Salon.com
“Best 2012 Debut By Brooklyn Novelist”
—The L Magazine
PRAISE FOR THE FESTIVAL OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS:
"If Puchai were a real country, I'd be a citizen by now, or at least an illegal alien. What a glorious novel!"
—Gary Shteyngart, author of Our Country Friends: A Novel
"Comic novels can be whimsical, or clever, or delightful, or witty, or canny, or powerful. Rarely are they all of those things. Matt Dojny's large-hearted, bright-minded novel has drawings and letters and love and loss, and now you do, too."
—Ben Greenman, author of What He's Poised to Do and Superbad
"There's no comparison to reading a novel that it's clear a writer had a ton of fun writing. For a light-hearted book, there's a lot of heart in The Festival of Earthly Delights."
—The Rumpus
"Matt Dojny's narrator Boyd Darrow is as poetically drawn as J.D. Salinger's Holden Caulfield, and as intimately hilarious as C.D. Payne's Nick Twisp. Dojny has created an entire country filled with characters that are so fresh and endearing, you'll find yourself wishing Puchai were a real place. I love this book."
—Kristen Schaal (Flight of the Conchords, The Daily Show)
"Matt Dojny's novel is a true delight. I can't think of any writer since Kingsley Amis who's been able to write high-minded comedy that packs such a punch. I've never enjoyed a comic novel more."
—John Wray, author of Lowboy
"The Festival of Earthly Delights is a thoroughly enjoyable and eminently funny book that can keep a whimsical, humorous tone intact whilst addressing very valid, topical issues. The balancing act is as impressive as you're likely to find in any modern comedy or debut novel..."
—Tottenville Review
What exactly is the "Festival of Taang Lôke Kwaam Banterng Sumitchanani"?
It's a 24-hour water balloon blitzkrieg, a ruthless talent competition, and an earth-scorching, take-no-prisoners bacchanalia. It's the one day of the year when everyone has a shot at finding true love—even a rapacious, over-sexed turtle god. It's a celebration of hobos and heartbreak, Lionel Richie impersonators and banana-brandy-flavored rice wine. It's The Festival of Earthly Delights.
Boyd Darrow is a young American living in Puchai, a tiny Southeast Asian country that tourist brochures refer to as "The Kingdom of Winks." In a series of letters written to a mysterious recipient, Boyd tells of the delights, humiliations and brain-bending misadventures he experiences while adjusting to life in the small college town of Mai Mor. He and his somewhat less-than-faithful girlfriend, Ulla, were hoping to start their lives over in Puchai, but Puchai has an agenda all its own.
Ulla's been hired to organize the talent show at the town's annual "Festival of Taang," but she seems more interested in the possibilities of cultural exchange with a local revolutionary. Meanwhile, Boyd grapples with a culture in which baby owls are considered a delicacy, turtles are worshipped as deities, and a wink can have one of 379 possible meanings (including "You're fired," "There's something in my eye," and "I want to kiss your lips!"). He's also falling for his boss's daughter, a half-Puchanese girl with a black eye and a troubling past. Lines are crossed, secrets are revealed, and, as Boyd's life inevitably spins out of control, the Festival draws closer with each day...
Hilarious and wise and fiercely original, The Festival of Earthly Delights is a no-holds-barred celebration of love, cultural differences, and one man's reluctant embrace of the sensual pleasures of this world, in all their awkward, enigmatic glory.